Silver Anachronism
by KuiperBelt
Summary: Eggman Nega's trying another one of his world-destroying schemes. Can Silver stop it before he undoes history? Can Relic keep his cool during time travel?  Warning: An original character.
1. Adventure Zone: Onyx Ruins

**Foreward****: **Yes, this story has an original character. Yes, this story centers on him and Silver. No, this story will not have romance. With that out of the way, please note that I will get as close as I can to canon, but some things I'll add because I want to address them. This mostly refers to stuff involving the future, time travel, and the high jinks that can inevitably spawn from said anachronism. So… Enjoy.

"Stop right there, Eggman Nega!" A white hedgehog shouted, yelling at a man in a floating machine of some sort. The man was vaguely egg-shaped, with a white moustache, goggles, and a black coat. The white hedgehog was breathing heavily, as if it took quite a bit of effort on his part to get to this point. His hands were glowing with a soft teal color; that this was a power of some sort was obvious. The glowing seemed to intensify in the circles of the same color on his gloves.

"And why, may I ask, would I let you interfere with my plans?" The man said, turning his machine around; this must be Eggman Nega. He was at the entrance to a pyramid in the middle of a jungle of some sort. The local explorers referred to it as the Mystic Ruins. Had our hedgehog friend paid more attention, he might have made a comment on the originality of the name. Of course, he hadn't, as he was focused more on the man in front of him.

"Who said you'd let me?" The bluish glow grew; a sign of aggression for sure. From the look on his face, one could tell he meant business. He waved his hand to a large piece of rock which could politely be called a boulder, if it were not for the pictographs covering its side. At one time, it must have been part of the pyramid they were standing on. Now, however, it was floating, surrounded by the same teal color that glowed off the hedgehog's hand. It wasn't a huge leap in logic to assume it was the work of said animal.

"Well then, Silver," Nega responded, his voice oddly amused, "It's time you play with a new invention of mine, the Nega Totem!" As if on-cue, a robotic creature ascended from the base of the pyramid. It was some kind of giant head, its design fitting to the surroundings, and yet it was out of place, pristine in a world of ruin. Silver stood back a moment, as Nega's floating machine flew up beside the Nega Totem. "Have fun!" He called, his sadistic laugh echoing off the ruins' walls.

Silver started to run after the doctor. "I won't let you get awa-" He was cut off, as a robotic hand crashed into the ground in front of him, creating a wall between him and Nega. He growled in frustration, only now noticing that he had let go of the boulder. "Get back you coward!" He screamed, shaking his fist at the man. All he got in return was that same laugh, cold and cruel. It used to be that the laugh sent a chill down his spine, but he had grown used to it in his battles with the doctor.

Thinking fast, the hedgehog back flipped, using his powers to grab the boulder he had earlier. With a flick of his wrist, the boulder smashed into the robot's eye, just as Silver landed. Another hand flew down, nearly smashing him; Silver only escaped by rolling to the side, and even then just by a hair. He grabbed the boulder again, only for the first hand to stop it mid-throw, and crush it.

"Think that will stop me, huh?" Silver responded, the pieces levitating with teal auras. They swirled and, as the hands clapped together to try and grab Silver, flew into the machine's head. Meanwhile, Silver had levitated himself above the hands, landing on the side of a hand. The rocks each dented the head, which, when combined with the gaping hole in place of its eye, made it a perfect match for its surroundings.

The machine made a screechy, static filled noise. Silver braced himself as the rocket-propelled hands moved apart, barely keeping on. He noticed a serial number and name on the side of the head: N-2011 NEGA TOTEM. It didn't really help him any, it just gave him a frame of reference. The hand he was kneeling on made a sharp turn, starting to face palm-up. Acting quickly, Silver jumped up, using his psychic powers to keep himself in place.

"Where is this thing's weak spot…?" The hedgehog asked, looking up and down as the hands started moving faster and faster, circling their head with dangerous speed. Silver might have noted that he'd seen faster, were he in a wittier mood. Since he wasn't, he settled to focus on the hole he'd knocked in the robotic monster's eye. Sparks were flying from it, and as he looked, he saw what appeared to be a turbine… He wasn't an expert on mechanics, but it looked like I might have been some kind of engine or generator. The hands were closing in, and he decided he had one shot.

"Here goes…" He commented, propelling himself back, out of the hands' reach. Then, he let his power release. He fell onto the ground outside the temple. Once there, he raced up the stairs, a rock with a teal aura following him. The floating head turned to face him, only now realizing where its target had run off to. Silver smirked, pointing at the head's eye, the rock obediently flinging itself in that direction. The rock tore into the robotic head, and a sound rang out, which was rather telling of powering down. The robot's intact eye flickered out, and it's hands, still in mid flight towards the hedgehog, fell, no longer propelled by rockets. They crashed into the temple, causing even more damage to the ancient ruin.

"What in the world…?" A voice asked. Silver turned around, to see an indigo bat standing at the bottom of the pyramid. His clothing; shoes, gloves, and conspicuous bandana; were gold and black, though with the dirt on him and said clothes, it was obvious he had been in the wilderness for some time now. He tilted his head, and seemed a little angry.

"I'm sorry, but I was ju-" Silver tried to sound polite, even going as far as to put on a semi-smile. However, he was cut off, as the bat began to storm up the steps. He backed up, putting his hands in front of him defensively, as the bat began to yell at him.

"Do you have any idea how long I've been excavating from these ruins?! It'll take ages to sort through this, not to mention all the glyphs that we can never examine again!" The bat's voice was rising at an alarming rate, his anger clear. His fist was raised, but he didn't act like it was the real threat. "Do you have any respect for this ancient culture?!" He paused, his red eyes glaring into the gold-colored eyes of his prime suspect.

"I wasn't the person who did anything!" Silver said indignantly. His hand was also raised, possibly in an attempt to get the angered party to lower his own, possibly in a real threat. Either way, the bat stepped down, breathing an audible sigh.

"Then who was? I only just got started. Sure, the ruins have been around forever, but this was going to be my big break! Finding something new amidst these long-forsaken ruins…" He seemed to zone out for a moment. Silver took a step back, looking at the indigo archaeologist closely. He didn't seem to be affiliated with Eggman Nega; in fact, he seemed like a useful ally, if only for the zeal he had displayed. The bat looked at Silver, seeming to expect a response.

"Dr. Harold Robotnik, AKA Eggman Nega," Silver said, his voice full of vitriol and spite. His dislike of the doctor was almost tangible, at least to the bat. "I've been trying to stop his schemes for some time now, and his most recent plan could rewrite _history_." His voice was full of urgency, and the archaeologist seemed to genuinely believe him.

"I see… I'm Relic the Bat, by the way," The indigo mammal- apparently named Relic- smiled and held out his hand, most likely so that his new acquaintance could shake as an offering of civility. Silver took the hand, smiling in kind. "I'm sorry for snapping at you earlier. I just hate to see history destroyed like this…" He broke the handshake to gesture around them; to the robotic remains, to the now useless pyramid, to the broken glyphs…

"I'm Silver. And it's okay, really," Silver said, shrugging, "Someone needs to stand up for these temples, right? I was just more focused on stopping the robot." He seemed to loosen up just the tiniest bit, but only just, as his expression seemed to refocus itself on Eggman Nega. "Meanwhile, I have to go stop the Dr. before he goes back in time…"

"Wait, you're a time traveler?" The bat asked. His interest was obviously piqued, and he didn't seem to want to back down. "You mean, you could go back and see these ruins at their prime? Think of the discoveries we could make!" Silver gave the archeologist an odd look. The words on his mind were probably akin to _"__What__is__with__this__guy__?"_ or _"__Are__you__serious__?"_ The idea of using time travel as anything other than a tool to enforce justice and protect the weak had never occurred to him. Maybe to the more scholarly, the idea would have been the very first thing on their mind, but Silver wasn't at all a scholar. Plus, his methods of time travel were far more limited than the bat realized.

"It's complicated," He started, "And you can't just tag along." He seemed impatient, and obviously so. He stayed not out of politeness, but because he had no lead as to where Dr. Nega was, and even if he left now, Relic would likely follow and insist to help. He figured the path of least resistance would be to discourage the tagalong before he became a tagalong.

"But I'm an archeologist!" Relic said, as if it made a difference to the hedgehog. The white-furred animal's expression held the obvious answer that it didn't. This didn't deter the bat, as he continued. "Meaning I'll know more about the past than you do! It's my job to study the past." Silver shrugged.

"I'll admit, you make a point, but I still don't want to have to go saving you or stopping you from making the future worse," He replied, quite rudely if you asked Relic. He took it in stride, though, almost as if it was a challenge of some sort.

"Well, I'll be the first to tell you that I'm rubbish at flying," He replied, "But I'm stronger than you think. Watch this…" With that note, the bat walked up to a large chunk of temple, almost beyond recognition. He seemed to stand back a little, and then let loose a roundhouse kick. The boulder shook, but otherwise seemed fine.

"That's great and all, but I-" Relic held up a finger, and used his other hand to push on the boulder. It shattered into pile of rubble, a testament to the leg strength of the flying mammal.

"Fine, I guess you can come along…"


	2. Adventure Zone: Station Square

Silver didn't like being alone. At least, not usually. The hedgehog often felt... anxiety when on his own. However, he understood, or at least thought he did, that his job of instilling justice didn't leave much room for friends. Still, he didn't seem to mind having a companion after so long. His shoulders were relaxed, and he held a pleasant smile as he spoke to the bat that had forced himself on the adventure.

"... and that's the legend of the serpent," Relic was saying, "Or at least, what we can gather of it from the ruins of the late Knuckles Tribe." He was rather engrossed in the subject, and was visibly excited from the history. His gold wings were outstretched and moving back and forth as if in flight.

"You're really into this stuff, huh?" Silver said, smiling. He laughed a little, even as he moved over another root in the path as they made their way out of the forest. His eyes were carefully examining the forest path ahead of him, but were light and friendly.

"Of course I am!" Relic replied, laughing, "I mean, aren't you?" He paused for a moment, as if expected an answer. Silver was formulating an answer, but he wasn't entirely sure. The silence hung and almost seemed to deter speech, but Relic cut through it anyway. "You aren't serious, are you? You time travel, and you don't like history?"

"That's not it," Silver responded, sounding slightly annoyed, "I just haven't paid that much attention..." He almost mumbled the last part, as if he was a child being scolded. He heard a stifled laugh from behind him. He sighed. "Hey! I have more important things to worry about!" Relic nodded.

"Yeah, I get that," He said, his voice portraying the smile on his face, "You just have to look around more. Anyway, where is this time machine of yours, anyway?" He had caught up to Silver, and was walking beside the hedgehog now.

"Like I said, it's complicated..." He said hesitantly. He was tugging on the edge of his glove, and had slowed a little, knocking into Relic. "But... I have this thing that makes portals in time..." He stopped for a second, thinking, before kneeling down and reaching into his boot, pulling out a strange, cylindrical device.

"Is that it?" Relic asked, examining the device as close as he could without taking it from him. Silver nodded slowly, as if contemplating something. "So, why don't we use it now?" Relic had his hand on the object, his eye twinkling, his wings stretching.

"I can't," The hedgehog explained, pulling the device from Relic before sliding it back into his boot, "I need to get something to power it first."

"Like...?" Relic inched in closer, his eyes sparkling, his teeth showing in a smile.

"Like a Chaos Drive, but they're pretty hard to find in this time period," Silver concluded, "There's only one place where I can get them quickly and with-" He stopped himself as he stumbled over a root, but was caught by Relic. "- the least amount of hassle possible. Thanks."

"No problem," The bat replied, flashing a smile, "So, where is it you can get these Chaos Drive things?" As soon as he asked, he heard a sigh emit from the animal in front of him. Relic had considered the possibility of shady business, but this only cemented the thought. "Wait, you aren't talking abo-"

"Yes, the black market," Silver cut him off, "If that makes you uncomfortable, you can leave or wait outside."

"No way!" Relic said, "Do realize how many artifacts are pawned away on the black market? It's a gold mine- figuratively and literally!" He smashed on hand onto the other, and Silver could have sworn he saw a fire in his eyes; at least, he would have if he had been in a more observant mood. Still, he found his partner's determination unsettling. Not that it was the most unsettling thing to happen to him...

Relic had expected the black market to be a line of tents in a series of back alleys, each kept by a shady character in dark robes. Or maybe he had expected the black market to be a series of underground sales by otherwise legitimate businesses, where only those in the know with the password can access their shadier products. What he hadn't expected was, predictably, what ended up being the reality.

"You can stay out here if you want," Silver said as he lifted the manhole cover. Relic passively wondered why there didn't seem to be any cars using the road behind them. They were, indeed, in a back alley, between a large corporation headquarters, whose name neither Relic nor Silver had bothered to remember, and a bank. Relic would have asked how the Bank got by without getting robbed.

"I already said I wanted to go in," Relic reminded his time-travelling acquaintance, though he looked over his shoulder as he said so.

"You don't have to," Silver continued, his face softening, "Really, it's fine."

"And pass up on this opportunity? Not a chance," Was Relic's reply, the fire in his eyes returning. Silver wondered if this would be a regularly occurring event. So, the bat now undeterred, Silver dropped down under the manhole. He was instantly bombarded with smell, and his hand instinctively went to his nose. Relic dropped down after him, and the teal glow of Silver's power appeared on the man hole cover as it went back over its hole. They walked in silence through the sewer, partially out of having nothing to say, and partially because their hands were in the way. Relic could only notice the greenish water lining their concrete pathway, and how dark the tunnel was. Their only form of illumination were the torches occasionally lining the path. Relic almost felt comfortable in the tunnel; it was reminiscent of the underground portion of the Mystic Ruins and of the many Pyramids he'd seen in Shamar.

The sewage tunnel ended with a wooden door, with "Beware: High Voltage" written on it in red lettering. Silver opened the door swiftly, and, giving only the briefest of looks over his shoulder, went inside. The chao at the front desk seemed to recognize him, and grinned a large, toothy grin.

"You need Chaos Drives, yes?" The chao said in an indeterminate accent. Relic examined the market; there were a variety of items scattered about. He had heard that, at one time, the shop had a legitimate business for Chao Gardens and their keepers, but, with the opening of ChaoMart, the shopkeeper had to turn to shadier products to make ends meat. Relic could still see shades of the rumor's base; there were Chao eggs on a few shelves, and one shelf with several mini-fruit-trees. However, that was the extent of the likeness; Relic found that the rest of the shelves were lined with jewels, documents, and antiques. He was sure that he saw at least one artifact that had been personally stolen from him, but he couldn't guarantee that it was the same. The chao reached under the counter and pulled out a red cylinder with a glowing center. "You have 100 rings, yes?"

Silver sighed lightly, "Of course..." He threw a pile of rings onto the counter, conjured up from wherever it is he keeps the golden, shrinkable items; Relic theorized that he kept them in his boot, as he had with this time travel device. Silver furrowed his brow as he snatched the drive from the chao's hand and stamped out of the door. Relic was tempted to grab one of the necklaces to inquire about a price, but he decided against it. Besides, he had another adventure to get to.


End file.
